Lamps are often assembled by installing a light source in a housing. Examples of such lamps include examination lamps such as those used in dentistry or in hospital emergency rooms for lighting when applying stitches, for example, as well as lamps used in residential applications for spot lighting or lamps used in industrial applications for task lighting. Light sources used in such lamps may include halogen bulbs, light-emitting diode (hereinafter “LED”) arrays, and other suitable light bulbs. Such light bulbs are often consumable items that typically need to be replaced from time to time during the life of the lamp.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lamp 900 in accordance with a conventional example. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the lamp 900 shown in FIG. 1, components thereof being shown as disassembled for replacement of the light bulb 905.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a lamp 900 in accordance with the conventional art comprises a light bulb 905 that is held in place within a housing 910 by means of two V-shaped spring wires (also referred to herein as V-springs) 990. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 910 has an undercut lip 915 that retains the V-springs 990 when the V-springs 990 are in their installed configuration. During replacement of the light bulb 905, these V-springs 990 are flexed by hand so as to clear the undercut lip 915 of the housing 910, removal and reinstallation of the V-springs 990 being necessary when replacing an old light bulb 905 with a new light bulb 905.
In accordance with the conventional art, when replacing a light bulb 905, it is necessary to remove both V-springs 990 prior to removing and replacing the light bulb 905. After removal and replacement of the light bulb 905, the V-springs 990 must be returned to approximately their original configuration within the recess of the undercut lip 915 of the housing. During removal and return of the V-springs 990, attempts to manipulate the V-springs 990 by hand can be painful and imprecise, while use of tools to pry or press the V-springs 990 can result in damage to the undercut lip 915 or other portions of the housing 910, the V-springs 990, and the light bulb 905. Moreover, when attempting to press a V-spring 990 into the recess of the undercut lip 915, sudden buckling or shifting of an end of the V-spring 990 may cause the V-spring 990 to fly off into space. Moreover, a typical user, especially when in a hurry or frustrated by the challenge of simultaneously manipulating the free ends of the V-springs 990 to achieve proper installation without injury to fingers or lamp, may settle for incomplete or improper installation, as there is no positive or definitive mechanism to prevent the user from judging that the lamp is ready for use despite lost, unused, or improperly positioned V-springs 990.
The V-springs 990 of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, even when installed properly, contact the rear surface of the light bulb 905 in point fashion at, at most, a discrete number of locations (four in the example shown in FIG. 1). Furthermore, even where the V-springs 990 are installed properly, the V-springs 990 may provide little in the way of spring loading of the light bulb 905 against the front of the housing 910. Moreover, what little spring loading may exist with V-springs 990 will typically provide inadequate mechanical compliance, meaning that a small change in displacement, due for example to variation in part dimensions or installation technique or due to temperature change or impact, can result in a large change in bulb-retaining force, and may even swamp or overwhelm what compliance may exist, easily resulting in backlash or slop between parts. In this way, any number of unsatisfactory conditions resulting from use of V-springs 990 may result in poor lamp performance or even light source failure due to loose or improper support of the bulb 905.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.